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-   -   Wire Labeling (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=165335)

Dean Pichon 10-24-2018 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrogunner (Post 1297547)
I used a label maker with a small font and put a pc of clear heat shrink over it. I already had a label maker and the clear heat shrink is cheap.

I tried this recently, but found the heat required to shrink the (polyolefin) heat shrink tube was enough to activate the thermal ink on the label stock which made the whole label turn black. How did you avoid that?

Thanks,

RV-14E 10-24-2018 11:41 PM

I used my 14 year old HP Officejet to print labels in 6 point font, cut them into itty bitty strips, slipped some clear heatshrink tubing over them and the wire then ran the heat gun on it for a few seconds. Very inexpensive.

I don't have a lot of good pics since I didn't bother to document that process, but here's an example:



Another during work-in-progress of the fuse block. You can even see I hand-wrote one of the labels ("LEMO") because I was too lazy to run back to my computer and print out a label for one wire.


BCP Boys 10-25-2018 05:46 AM

Time = Money
 
I just finished my panel and can tell you that first and foremost, flat labels will come off. I'm sure someone will have an argument that I did it wrong but flat labels will come off. When your hands are dirty while working in the shop, and you peel off the label to put on the wire, you end up getting the crud on the sticky... I tried everything and even bought bigger labels but over time they will come off.
Do yourself a favor, buy the heat shrink labels, do it once and forget about it. If you have the extra time, print them on your printer, cut them, put them on with clear hear shrink (too time consuming for me). Either way, use heat shrink so they don't come off.

j-red 10-25-2018 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Pichon (Post 1297690)
I tried this recently, but found the heat required to shrink the (polyolefin) heat shrink tube was enough to activate the thermal ink on the label stock which made the whole label turn black. How did you avoid that?

Thanks,

You may have the wrong type of labeller. I used a unit that consumes Brother?s P-touch tapes and had zero of this happening. I even found that by heating the label itself it kind of melted onto the wire and didn?t need heat shrink (although because this technique often made the text a little blurry, I usually opted for the print nd clear shrink method)

DRMA 10-25-2018 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_Wischmeyer (Post 1297618)
There's a whole 'nother part of documenting the wiring when it comes to avionics. Knowing what individual pins and wires are is nice, but it's also nice to know things at a higher level -- such as, serial port #1 from device A goes to serial port #3 on device D, that kind of thing. And similarly, all the input and output port settings on each device, all the autopilot gains, everything.

I documented all that in a spreadsheet, saved it as a pdf and have it on my cell phone. Ed

Ed makes a good point. Wire labels are great, but without good documentation they don't help much with trouble shooting or revisions. You need up-to-date complete as-built documentation to efficiently find any problems.

While I do have a couple of spreadsheet tables I developed to help me keep track of things while developing my wiring diagrams, they don't help me as much as the actual wiring diagrams in understanding how everything works together.

I have developed my wiring diagrams using PowerPoint in a format that was recommended by Pahan Ranasingha in the AEA "Avionics Installation for Experimental Aircraft" class. Developing the wiring diagrams in this way results in easy to read, fully documented diagrams in a format that prints easily in a set of 8.5" x 11" pages. I can print the set of pages to a pdf file, and then take the file down to my local Office Depot/Staples and get them printed in ledger size (11 x 17) to use in the shop. This larger size allows me to keep track of as-built changes while working, which I can then take home and use to revise my original PowerPoint file to keep it up to date. Once I have completed the work, I will then print the as-builts to a pdf file which I will carry with me on my iPad and cell phone. This way I will always have the diagrams with me without the weight and space required by the paper drawings. If I need the large paper drawings at some distant airport for serious trouble shooting, I can always get them printed at a local office supply store from the pdf files I will carry on my phone.

I'm not saying this is the only way to do your documentation, just that this is what works well for me. If you find a spreadsheet to be easier for you, then by all means use a spreadsheet. Just be sure you keep an up-to-date current set of as-built documentation so that trouble shooting problems doesn't become a nightmare!

One other suggestion - pull in a few spare wires when you are doing your installation. These will become huge time savers when you realize you forgot a wire, or have to replace a damaged wire in the future. They don't take up much space or weight, and are easily installed at the time of your original wire installation.

Regards,

Iluke 10-25-2018 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRMA (Post 1297850)
Ed makes a good point. Wire labels are great, but without good documentation they don't help much with trouble shooting or revisions. You need up-to-date complete as-built documentation to efficiently find any problems.

While I do have a couple of spreadsheet tables I developed to help me keep track of things while developing my wiring diagrams, they don't help me as much as the actual wiring diagrams in understanding how everything works together.

I have developed my wiring diagrams using PowerPoint in a format that was recommended by Pahan Ranasingha in the AEA "Avionics Installation for Experimental Aircraft" class. Developing the wiring diagrams in this way results in easy to read, fully documented diagrams in a format that prints easily in a set of 8.5" x 11" pages. I can print the set of pages to a pdf file, and then take the file down to my local Office Depot/Staples and get them printed in ledger size (11 x 17) to use in the shop. This larger size allows me to keep track of as-built changes while working, which I can then take home and use to revise my original PowerPoint file to keep it up to date. Once I have completed the work, I will then print the as-builts to a pdf file which I will carry with me on my iPad and cell phone. This way I will always have the diagrams with me without the weight and space required by the paper drawings. If I need the large paper drawings at some distant airport for serious trouble shooting, I can always get them printed at a local office supply store from the pdf files I will carry on my phone.

I'm not saying this is the only way to do your documentation, just that this is what works well for me. If you find a spreadsheet to be easier for you, then by all means use a spreadsheet. Just be sure you keep an up-to-date current set of as-built documentation so that trouble shooting problems doesn't become a nightmare!

One other suggestion - pull in a few spare wires when you are doing your installation. These will become huge time savers when you realize you forgot a wire, or have to replace a damaged wire in the future. They don't take up much space or weight, and are easily installed at the time of your original wire installation.

Regards,

Dave-

Is that powerpoint format something you could share? I have been doing my "as built" documentation by hand with a pencil, but it would be much better if I could do it on the computer. My problem is that I don't find powerpoint very user-friendly for doing wiring diagrams. I've tried, but it seems more of a hassle than it's worth. But if there is some technique that makes getting all those lines and boxes and such actually easy to manipulate, I'd appreciate hearing about it.
-Ivan Luke

RV7A Flyer 10-25-2018 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iluke (Post 1297922)
Dave-

Is that powerpoint format something you could share? I have been doing my "as built" documentation by hand with a pencil, but it would be much better if I could do it on the computer. My problem is that I don't find powerpoint very user-friendly for doing wiring diagrams. I've tried, but it seems more of a hassle than it's worth. But if there is some technique that makes getting all those lines and boxes and such actually easy to manipulate, I'd appreciate hearing about it.
-Ivan Luke

Try ExpressSCH...https://www.expresspcb.com/expresssch/

It's not bad, and it's free. Obviously, there are really good ones out there for a cost, but this tool worked just fine for me.

Electrogunner 10-25-2018 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Pichon (Post 1297690)
I tried this recently, but found the heat required to shrink the (polyolefin) heat shrink tube was enough to activate the thermal ink on the label stock which made the whole label turn black. How did you avoid that?

Thanks,

I used a standard brother label maker. I had no problem with that.

TFeeney 10-25-2018 03:56 PM

If you?re in a sharing mood
 
Dave -
I?d sure appreciate a copy as well. Your plan seems very logical and I?m about a month from starting this task myself. I have a written plan, but hadn?t even considered how to handle the ?as built? variation.

rocketman1988 10-25-2018 04:30 PM

Sharing?
 
I would like a copy if you will share...


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